Teams set 40-man rosters ahead of Rule 5 Draft

With only 40 spots on each organization's roster, there were some very tough decisions for teams to make this time of year as to which prospects to protect.

The deadline to make those choices has come and gone. Some players were protected with a coveted 40-man spot, while the others will be exposed to selection by the 29 other teams in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 14 at the Winter Meetings in Orlando.

With only 40 spots on each organization's roster, there were some very tough decisions for teams to make this time of year as to which prospects to protect.

The deadline to make those choices has come and gone. Some players were protected with a coveted 40-man spot, while the others will be exposed to selection by the 29 other teams in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 14 at the Winter Meetings in Orlando.

Players first signed at age 18 must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the 25-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.

For this year, that means an international or high school Draft pick signed in 2013 -- assuming he was 18 or younger as of June 5 of that year -- has to be protected. A college player taken in the 2014 Draft is in the same position.

Last year, there were 12 Top 100 players who needed to be protected. In 2015, there were 11. And every one of those 23 players were added to 40-man rosters.

There are obviously many more Minor Leaguers under consideration. There were 153 prospects on organizational Top 30 lists hoping to get added to a 40-man roster. That's up from last year, when there were 144 hoping to be protected. A total of 85 of them (55.6%) were protected. That's down a touch from last year, when 58% (84 of 144) were protected. In 2015, 75 of 156 (48%) Top 30 prospects landed on rosters.

Here's a list of all 30 teams' Top 30 prospects who needed to be protected to avoid being exposed to the Rule 5 Draft, along with non-Top 30 prospects who were given coveted roster spots.